Tuesday, June 12, 2012

We're back...at the hospital :(

So, I was going to write her one year old birthday party post, since I'm still so far behind, but I'm sitting in the hospital with a child that has pneumonia. Yep, I'm here AGAIN!!! I must say I will be so glad when I finally catch up! I've found this program that I downloaded and I can turn this blog into a book to showcase her whole story, so I'm pretty excited about that.
Saturday was an exciting day!!! My sister, Mary Margaret, got married. Harper Kate, of course, was the flower girl and woke up Saturday with the stomach bug. I headed off to get ready, take pictures and enjoy the day. Jarod kept her and was in charge of getting her ready (and himself ready) and get to the church. Bless his heart! He called to tell me that HK was throwing up/gagging every three minutes. He was amazing through the day, handled it all, gave HK two baths and got her to the church(in the right clothes!) only ten minutes late! Impressive I know. If you know me, you know how hard that was to relinquish control of that day (especially the dressing of HK) :).
Anyway, she made it down the aisle looking like the earth angel that she is with no crying, her eyes opened and did great for the babysitter that night (minus more throwing up)!
Sunday, she woke up pretty lethargic and sleepy, but we all assumed she was exhausted from throwing up. We drove home Sunday and she slept ok until 4:00 am when she woke up with a high fever and rapid breathing. I thought she was breathing fast because of her fever, but looking back now I should have realized something else was going on. Needless to say, I called the pediatrician when they opened and we headed to the dr.
When we got there the nurse checked her oxygen level and it was 85%. Those of you who aren't familiar with all this, that means the level of oxygen in her body (I think this is what it means) was only 85% when it should be 100%. It was that low because she was struggling to breathe. They gave her some oxygen, a couple breathing treatments and did an X-ray of her lungs which showed pneumonia. At this point, our best guess is that HK aspirated some vomit on Saturday which has developed into pneumonia.
When the dr found the pneumonia, HK and I got a complimentary ride, via ambulance with lights and sirens, to the children's hospital! Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Hahahaha.....straight there!
Then, we spent a few hours in the ER while they evaluated HK and now we sit in the PICU waiting to see the doctor today for an evaluation report and plan of action!
Currently, HK is breathing about 80 times a minute, which is down from yesterday, but still VERY high. Her body is worn out, so she is getting oxygen to help keep her O2 level up and she is still having fevers because of the inflammation in her body. For my nurse and medically minded friends, her CRP level is 14. :). She is receiving two antibiotics through IV and is getting breathing treatments and deep suctioning to get the fluid out of her lungs.
How long will we be here?! I wish I knew, but my gut tells me that we won't go home tomorrow that's for sure. Hopefully not forever...:). Mommy goes crazy after a few days in here. Hahaha
Prayer list:
For her lungs to clear quickly
For Jarod to be able to focus at work and sleep well at home knowing that HK is safe and ok
For me to not go to insane up here in the room...hahahaha
For HK's breathing rate to go down
That she could get off her oxygen soon
That her fevers would go down and stop spiking up
I am always amazed at the response, love, and offers of help I get when she is in the hospital! Last night some dear dear friends went ro my apartment, packed Harper Kate and me a bag, then drove 45 minutes from Newnan to the hospital, brought the bag and dinner from California Pizza Kitchen, and visited with us. They then got my car key, drove 45 minutes back, picked my car up from the doctors office and took it to their home. By the way, these people have two kids and still sacrificed their time together and missed our small group to help us! We are so so blessed!!! It is a humbling experience that's for sure to have so much help, but I couldn't be more grateful. It is amazing to see how many people love and care for us and more importantly for our child! These are by no means the only people who have offered to help! We are overwhelmed with people who would change their entire plans to come do anything for us!!
I'll leave you with an excerpt from my devotion this morning! Appropriate? I think so!!! It's from Jesus Calling.
"Let Me help you get through this day. There are many possible paths to travel between your getting up in the morning and your lying down at night. Stay alert to the many choice-points along the way, being continually aware of My Presence. You will get through this day one way or the other. One way is to moan and groan, stumbling along with shuffling feet. This will get you to the end of the day eventually, but there is a better way. You can choose to walk with Me along the path of Peace, leaning on Me as much as you need. There will still be difficulties along the way, but you can face them confidently in My strength. Thank Me for each problem you encounter, and watch to see how I transform trials into blessings."
All I can say is AMEN!!!!!
Love,
Courtney

3 comments:

  1. Praying for each of your requests Courtney. I used to go to Cahaba Ridge. I totally get all the o2 stuff and Childrens being your home away from home b/c my little guy Malachi has had some troubles of his own and has spent a mth out of his 3 mos in the hospital when totaled. He was sent home with monitors and o2 a couple mths ago after a bout with bronchiolitis. He's improving, but we're still trying to see if he has other needs as well as he has hypotonia, or low tone. I love the song Blessings, as a matter of fact I've even sang it after sharing my testimony before Malachi of having 4 miscarriages. God has been SO faithful, and I can see He has been with you as well! Keep us posted! We'll be praying!:)

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  2. Amen, Courtney! This was truly humbling to me! I love you and I'm praying for you!

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  3. Courtney:
    So, so sorry. I could kick myself because at one point Saturday I started to get my work bag from my car and check her temp and saturation but she went back to sleep. Maybe if I had we could have caught this quicker. Please know I praying specifically for the little things as well as all of your requests. Call with ANYTHING I can do to help!
    Love you!
    Julie

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